Hope this isn't a stupid question. Why are the police attacking peaceful..

[warrior1]

protesters?

We all know that this will not end well for the police. Attacking unarmed American's has always been a stupid thing and seeing the video's of the last few weeks sickens me.

This has got to stop before they kill some peaceful protester. I hope that it doesn't come to this.

[warrior1]

1. damn it

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-protests-live?cat=world&type=article

3.10pm: Scott Olsen is in a "critical condition", in Highland hospital, a spokesman for the hospital has just confirmed to me.
(We already knew he was there from the accounts below, but this is the first official confirmation).
2.24pm: I've just spoken to Keith Shannon, roommate of Scott Olsen, the Iraq veteran who is in hospital after apparently having been hit in the head by a police projectile.
Shannon said doctors told him Olsen has a "skull fracture and swelling of the brain". A neurosurgeon will assess Olsen later today to determine whether he needs surgery, Shannon said.
Olsen, 24, was in 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, before leaving the military last year. He had been opposed to the Iraq war even before his first tour to the country, Shannon said. Shannon and Olsen met in November or December 2005, and share an apartment in Daly City, south of San Francisco.

[Lucinda]

5. Oh man....

Breaks my heart.

[atreides1]

2. Because

They were just following orders...sound familiar?

[MADem]

3. They asked them to leave and they didn't want to. Then they came back.

The police say they were hit with rocks and bottles. Don't know if that is accurate but that's their version of events.

[tk2kewl]

4. have seen many videos of the events... yet to see any rock or bottle throwing

:shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. No video of such

And tell me, how dangerous is a plastic bottle, or what we have video off...eggs?

If you can throw that fast...join the MLB.

[MADem]

30. Why are you asking me, like I am the police spokesman?

All I am doing is telling you what I heard them say.

I don't honestly think, though, that the police give a shit about "dangerousness." If you start throwing anything at them, from plastic bottles to doggie chew toys to fluffy pillows, they're going to react--and not terribly kindly.

They don't negotiate. They tell you to leave, and if you don't, they come down. That's nicer than the old days--they used to not give any warnings at all before they got serious.

I've never known them to be any other way than determined to get their way when they are massed in formation like that--I can't imagine why they'd go "Awww, just plastic bottles--never mind, lads!"

That's just how they do it, and don't go blaming me for my observation of that reality, thanks much.

[Threedifferentones]

35. So there is no disagreement.

Everyone here as observed that cops are powerless to arrest the people who really ruin this country, but eager to inflict violence when harassed by the understandably angry poor people who would rather yell at the rich people the cops are protecting.

Do you we all agree this is bad?

[MADem]

37. Well, it's the task of attorneys general to indict those kinds of people.

The police don't have the tools to go after civil crime in that fashion--their job is public safety.

The corporate thieves do need to be brought to justice, but a cop won't be able to arrest any of them until the justice departments at state/federal levels go after them and indict. When that happens, they'll be told to "Book 'em, Dano."

Corporate crime isn't the same as murder or rape--the crime scene is much less obvious. It's why so many of them get away with it.

[Obamanaut]

43. A plastic bottle of just about any size, if filled with liquid, can cause damage. Were they empty?

Does the report say they were empty? What do we really know?

[WinkyDink]

33. Pronoun antecedents are your friend.

[MADem]

38. Context is yours! nt

[Frustratedlady]

6. Is it just me, or does it feel like an "order" has come down from higher up

to put an end to this protest? It just seems like a lot of places are closing them down or attacking, as in this instance.

Something has happened and I'll bet whoever "runs the show" from behind the curtain has given orders to get this protest stopped. Maybe they are looking at the Nov. 5th bank transfers. It sure looks like someone is concerned the OWS might be working!

[jberryhill]

11. If such an order came from "on high" then why has this extreme action only ocurred in Oakland

It seems the mayor was out of town, and someone from "on low" decided to address the situation inappropriately.

[MedicalAdmin]

15. I suspect that Oakland is a trial balloon.

If they get a null reaction or if they succeed in demonizing OWS then the program gets rolled out nationally and internationally.

They've run it up the flagpole. It's time to reaffirm the pledge of allegiance and keep moving. We always knew that this wouldn't be a bloodless movement and we always knew that it wouldn't be us who did the killing.

[MADem]

31. Oakland was the place with the filth and violence that refused to let the

reporter and other members of the public in the park--I think that's what was the tipping point.

[Frustratedlady]

29. This isn't the only action of late. Orlando, for one. Wasn't there one in Portland?

Chicago...can't remember the others, but it seems like there were others.

[RKP5637]

12. Yep, the Plutarchy, the 1%, have sent an order to stop the OWS protests. BTW, they

of course tell Obama what to do too, as well as most of gov. If it does not stop, they will tell them to use live fire and kill the protesters as needed to stop OWS. If the Plutarchy feels really threatened, this will turn into a police state immediately, in the name of national security. The reasons are probably already drafted.

[iscooterliberally]

7. The police are trying rile the protesters.

They want them to respond with violence so they bring down the movement. Back in the 60s they used the National Guard to shoot and kill 4 protesters at Kent State University. I hope the vet who was injured has a quick and full recovery.

[Tippy]

10. And the OWS folks have tried their damdest to stay peacefull

Stay safe Protestors.....

[Fire Walk With Me]

18. +1

[kestrel91316]

27. BINGO. [phone]

[0rganism]

8. to jack up the cost of protesting -- IOW intimidation

The OWS message is resonating, and the longer the protesters encamp, the more people are likely to see the truth of it.

Discrediting the movement as a bunch of unemployed filthy hippies wasn't working well enough. To really deter lingering protests, the cops are going to escalate the disperse orders and the ensuing violence. When people see that they're risking injury at an Occupy event, they'll be much less likely to attend. Also, they won't bring family members with them, especially children. Also, there's a large segment of the population who'll readily believe that the police response was somehow proportional and triggered by lawlessness from the occupiers, and who wants to side with bands of outlaw hooligans?

At this point, ruthless suppression by "law enforcement" is a suitable approach, from the establishment point of view, to thinning out the protests.

[coalition_unwilling]

25. That's flawed logic, at least in my case. My wife and I are actually

discussing whether to relocate to Oakland to support Occupy Oakland or whether the Movement is best served by our remaining here and serving Occupy Los Angeles.

The worst thing they can do is take my life. But my life doesn't mean much if they're killing and wounding my brothers and sisters and I'm sitting idly by.

[Blue Owl]

9. Because they protect and serve the 1%

Not the 99%.

[RKP5637]

14. I'm always amazed at how naive the citizens of America are ... n/t

[randome]

13. This will only continue to happen.

If OWS wants to give a meaningful message to the powers that be (our legislators), they need to stop making easy targets of themselves.

Gathering in groups in a hundred different cities only dilutes the power of the people and the message.

But thousands of people marching to Washington? Now THAT would send a message!

[socialist_n_TN]

41. Not as much of a message as 100k people

ACTUALLY occupying Wall Street. Eyes on the REAL power. Don't look at the puppets in DC, look at the puppet masters on Wall Street.

[Gregorian]

17. I think the real question is how will Americans make this a true democracy.

We know why they're using force. I asked the same question in another thread. But it is rhetorical now.

Somehow we ended up stopping short last time. The Vietnam war ended. Everyone went to work. Started families, and faded away. I've always been disappointed by what I see as protesters who decided to put on suits once it was all over.

It was never over for me. We entered into a new phase. Reagan. Bush. Drug war. Growth of a police facet to the country. Prison contracting. Military increases.

Once in place, it's very hard to turn this stuff around. Swords to plowshares.

[RKP5637]

23. IMO it's been basically one gradual wrath of RW stuff since the Vietnam war. In some

cases it was gradual, in others it was fast ... but the end result is the same, each day more and more citizens are being enslaved to the system, and exactly as you said, "Once in place, it's very hard to turn this stuff around." A lot of it is up to the youth now IMO, as to what kind of world they want to live in ... I think a lot are aware of how F'ed up this country has become, I hope they survive the assault by TPTB, and all of us need to continue to help them. Somehow, I feel my generation failed this country miserably in some ways.

[Fire Walk With Me]

19. Those now in power cannot tolerate dissent. It might spread and threaten their power

and money.

[Fire Walk With Me]

20. Those now in power cannot tolerate dissent. It might spread and threaten their power

and money.

[EC]

21. They're liberals. n/t

[treestar]

22. I don't know, but I'd get some facts before judging

Your post seems to assume many things.

[WinkyDink]

32. Actually, yours does.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

40. what exactly are you waiting for?

I just watched the attempted whitewash of a press conference. They're going to look into things, and they're going to eventually clear themselves. I'll bet hard cash on that outcome. Still, this is in stark contradiction to the massive amounts of video and still photos showing police attacking peaceful protestors, with clubs, with flash bang grenades, with rubber bullets or something very similar, and with something they were shooting from rooftops.

So yeah, you can play that game if you want to, but most of us KNOW better, incontrovertibly, no matter what these murderpigs come back and say. Fuck these piece of shit cops.

[coalition_unwilling]

24. Because some police are enemies of the people and class traitors - n/t

[kestrel91316]

26. It's called threats and intimidation. It won't work. This will only make the 99% angrier.

[blindpig]

28. They will not be punished in any significant way, they seldom are.

And yes, somebody(s) gonna get killed.

Capital will brook no opposition.

[H2O Man]

34. "The only stupid question

is the one that remains unasked." -- Malcolm X

[HughBeaumont]

36. Well, to "protect and serve", of course.

The 1%, that is.

And you'd better be Republican.

They don't treat us equally. They never have.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=2183628&mesg_id=2186196

[Odin2005]

39. Because they work for the 1%

[GOTV]

42. They call it the Kent State Moment ...

... Let's hope it never comes to OWS.